Comcast commits to downtown St. Paul, set to renovate regional HQ

Comcast says it has renewed its lease through 2024 for its regional HQ in downtown St. Paul and will invest millions of dollars to upgrade the building. The cable giant employs 700 in the building just across the Mississippi from downtown's core, from which it oversees operations in four states. (Pioneer Press file photo)

Downtown St. Paul has seen its share of big-name business departures -- from West Publishing in 1992 to the Macy's department store last year. But Comcast Corp. won't be one of them.

The cable giant, which runs a 700-employee regional headquarters in a glass-sheathed complex across the Mississippi River from downtown's core, could have been the latest corporate evacuee. When its lease came up recently, it considered all of its options -- including the possibility of moving to another Twin Cities location.

Instead, it said Wednesday that it's committing to keeping its downtown staffers right where they are through 2024, and embarking on a multimillion-dollar set of renovations intended to improve working conditions for those employees.

Comcast said it finalized the deal with its landlord at 10 River Park Plaza this month.

"Our intent was to stay here all along," said Jeff Freyer, Comcast's regional vice president for an area covering Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas and Missouri.

"There's isn't anything negative here. Our lease was up, it was time to look around, we did our due diligence, and we decided this was the place for us.

"We decided to make it even better," Freyer added.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said "we had conversations with (Comcast) over the last several months about why it's important for them to stay in town."

But, ultimately, Coleman said, the company's decision to stay here came down to "a transaction with their building owner.

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Florida-based LNR Partners owns the eight-story building, which was built in 1988 to house the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Developer Jerry Trooien previously owned it before going through a 2010 banktruptcy.

"It means a tremendous amount to St. Paul," Matt Kramer, president of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, said of the deal. "Everyday that goes by, this city is doing a better job of giving people a reason to cross the river (from Minneapolis). I don't just mean a bridge -- I mean giving people entertainment, housing.

"Anchoring those employees in downtown St. Paul helps Lowertown, helps our entertainment complex," added Kramer, noting a corporate presence draws large numbers of both entry-level and executive-level workers. "It's a real testament to the strength of this city. You think of malls with anchor stores, like Sears. ... Comcast is very much an anchor business."

Freyer said other factors figured into Comcast's decision to stay where it is. These include public transit, such as the Central Corridor light-rail line debuting in June, along with the building's centralized location that makes employee commutes easier.

Philadelphia-based Comcast has 2,000 Twin Cities employees. Those who work in the downtown complex include call-center workers, business and commercial sales teams, administrative support staff, customer- and technical-support specialists, information-technology workers and others.

Those employees will be getting lots of new goodies, with renovations set to be complete by the fall.

Comcast said it will install about 650 new workstations, renovate conference rooms, redesign break rooms, set up all-new social spaces and create quiet and "wellness" areas for improved morale.

"When you're working in a call center all day, it's nice to step out and have some peace and quiet to collect your thoughts," Freyer said. "Employees are really excited about the renovations."

Also, the Comcast complex will get revamped heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.

Building visitors will see big changes, too. The building's lobby will be remodeled, for one thing. The complex's product-demonstration laboratory will get an overhaul, too.